Foreign Policy "Creation" or "Zen"

I, like most international relations/security studies folks, have been following the events in Ukraine and Israel/Gaza with great interest.  I make no claim of special knowledge and fact.  I do, however, have my own opinions regarding the facts (thanks Daniel Patrick Moynihan for the great statement).  Human opinions regarding facts and what the facts indicate for the future is what truly drives the development of foreign policy.  In thinking about how I would recommend the U.S. government should respond to the facts (particularly in Ukraine and Israel/Gaza, but also thinking about North Korean statements, Chinese actions/statements, continued unrest in Libya, South Sudan, and I can go on with the list), I found some interesting commentary in the last few days provided by Daniel Drezner (here is the Drezner Link) and Josh Busby (here is Busby Link).   I recommend to everyone a quick perusal of these articles.

For my own two cents, I caution people to remember that taking the long arching view of humanity and ideological growth in our world does not mean isolationism.  The "Zen" crowd might be wary of taking hasty actions, but this does not equate to inaction.  Structural realists generally believe that you must determine which interests are the most important (the interests are facts, which ones are most important are opinion) and act on those specific important interests.  In other words, do not sweat the small stuff, do not run off to fight battles that do not need to be fought just because someone offers you a battle.

Further, I caution against being hard on the "Reality Creators".  The proponents of this view (neoconservatives and liberal internationalists) are also looking at facts.  In the opinion of reality creators the facts justify/warrant/demand immediate action.  Busby says that there is room to manuever between the two positions and he is, in my opinion, correct.  So, read up, enjoy and use these ideas to figure out your own opinion regarding the facts we are presented and the appropriate responses.  Makes for good arguments over good cigars.